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Topic: Body Odor? (Read 8173 times)

Okay, so I've pretty much killed carbs totally for about a week now and a few days ago I noticed a general lack of body odor even after not showering for days. Since I work from home, the last two days I decided to experiment. I would use soap or deodorant until I could smell my pits. After 48--3 of those hours working in 95F temperatures moving stuff into storage--my pits have no smell whatsoever. Even if I bury my nose in there I can't get a whiff. When I was just eating reduced carb diet (non-paleo of course), my pits would be smelling like chicken soup by now.

I'm sure others have noticed this, but I'm just curious as to how long this can go on? I mean, animals don't use soap but they still smell like animals. Also, today I was doing sprints in the heat and noticed I'm not sweating as much even though I seem fully hydrated (based on thirst and urine color/frequency). Any thoughts on this?

hadn't thought about it, but just stuck my nose in my pit and there is no odor....and it has been 96F and super humid here. hmm, I'll keep a nose out.

Do you eat fruit or are you low carb too?

Awesome! If I don't have to buy much soap or deodorant that's an added bonus from this diet. That along with vastly reduced alcohol consumption, no eating out, and less time preparing meals and I'm saving a bunch of $.

I went soap-free for about a month, and my dandruff cleared up as well as most of my facial psoriasis - the only problem being dry elbow skin (easily cured with a dab of coconut oil). I used soap/shampoo on Sunday and the day after my dandruff and psoriasis was back. I haven't used soap since and my skin is back to normal already. I use a non-antiperspirant no-aluminum deodorant every two days or so (Tom's Of Maine).

Destor

Humans generate apocrine and eccrine sweat. Eccrine sweat is used to lower our temperature, like when we exercise or when it's really hot. It is produced uniformly all over the body and does not smell.

Apocrine is a special type of exudation that is produced in places like the armpits, groin, hands, and feet. It is the latter that causes all the trouble, but like eccrine sweat, it also doesn't smell. Apocrine perspiration simply contains fat and protein.

So how does apocrine sweat tend to make us stinky?

Some bacteria on our body feed off apocrine sweat. Once they consume the sweat, they do what any living creature on earth does: they defecate Yup, you guessed it; B.O. is the smell of bacteria excrement!

Actually, bacteria don't really defecate like we do -- they break down chemical bonds -- but they do consume our perspiration, and that makes us smell.

^^ It must have something to do with this.

Also I think that high carbohydrate diets can change the composition of your sweat, which probably changes how bacteria deal with it, so I don't think it's a stretch to say that eating paleo could have a big impact.

About showering: I only wash my hair once every 3 days, I had dermatitis on my scalp for a long time before I stopped washing daily. I also don't use antiperspirant, I use a crystal deodorant which stops bacteria from growing.

Well, I cheated a little on my experiment today. I got a haircut and just couldn't get the itchy bits of hair off without soap. I still didn't was my pits with soap though so that bit of the experiment is still going. I'll keep you posted.

This discussion reminds me of back in high school, we had a guy on my basketball team whose mom was obsessed with vitamins and he literally ate a handful of vitamins twice a day (at least). The guy had the worst B.O. After sweating a little. I wonder if the bacteria were thriving in his vitamin rich sweat?

Surely some of the smell comes from within and is independent of bacteria?

Natural pheromones? I know spices can have a big impact on my smell.

Women LOVE chicken soup!

Haha...funny story. You know how a woman will lay her head on your chest just near your pit with your arm around her? My ex was alway keen on pointing out the chicken soup thing and once she caught a big whiff would quickly change her position. My new girl will just lay there for hours--and coincidentally, she does like chicken soup